RET is a single-pass transmembrane receptor belonging to the tyrosine kinase superfamily that is required for normal development, maturation, and maintenance of several tissues and cell types (Mulligan, L. M., Nature Reviews Cancer (2014) 14:173-186). The extracellular portion of the RET kinase contains four calcium-dependent cadherin-like repeats involved in ligand binding and a juxtamembrane cysteine-rich region necessary for the correct folding of the RET extracellular domain, while the cytoplasmic portion of the receptor includes two tyrosine kinase subdomains.
RET signaling is mediated by the binding of a group of soluble proteins of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family ligands (GFLs), which also includes neurturin (NTRN), artemin (ARTN), and persephin (PSPN) (Arighi et al., Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. (2005) 16:441-67). Unlike other receptor tyrosine kinases, RET does not directly bind to GFLs and requires an additional co-receptor: that is, one of four GDNF family receptor-α (GFRα) family members, which are tethered to the cell surface by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol linkage. GFLs and GFRα family members form binary complexes that in turn bind to RET and recruit it into cholesterol-rich membrane subdomains, which are known as lipid rafts, where RET signaling occurs.
Upon binding of the ligand-co-receptor complex, RET dimerization and autophosphorylation on intracellular tyrosine residues recruits adaptor and signaling proteins to stimulate multiple downstream pathways. Adaptor protein binding to these docking sites leads to activation of Ras-MAPK and PI3K-Akt/mTOR signaling pathways or to recruitment of the CBL family of ubiquitin ligases that functions in RET downregulation of the RET-mediated functions.
Aberrant RET expression and/or activity have been demonstrated in different cancers and in gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).